How Air Pollutants Contribute to Allergies, with Mahboobeh Mahdavinia, MD, PhD

At the 2025 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting in San Diego, HCPLive sat down with Mahboobeh Mahdavinia, MD, PhD, from the department of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Houston, to discuss her team’s presentation, “How to Adapt the Practice of Allergy and Immunology to Climate Change.”¹

“The main change that we're concerned about is the pollen count,” Mahdavinia said.

This echoes the statement from Sharmilee Nyenhuis, MD, a professor at the University of Chicago, who spoke at the meeting about the growing pollen seasons and the importance of collecting hyper-local pollen data instead of relying on historical data from weather app pollen forecasts.² She said that the west coast and the southwest had nearly 20-day increases in freeze days which lengthens the pollen.

Mahdavinia is most concerned about the pollen count because not only are allergic patients exposed to allergens longer, but a higher pollen count increases the likelihood of becoming allergic.

She said air pollutants contribute to allergies by disrupting the epithelium barrier by causing irritation and inflammation. Pollutants can also impact microbes in the nose and lungs and may kill some good bacteria, leaving room for pathogens.

In response to climate change, investigators have expanded measuring pollen in different regions and pollen in specific plants that did not use to be in that area.

“That would be one area that's needed now—to look more broadly for different pollens and potentially test for larger panels,” Mahdavinia said.

Mahdavinia emphasized the importance of individualized allergen immunotherapy. A barrier to allergen immunotherapy is that the allergen imitator is not paid well by insurance—or at all. This makes it hard for disadvantaged patients to receive immunotherapy.

“Changes in the insurance policies could be very helpful if they universally cover hydrogen immunotherapy that would be beneficial to many patients that now cannot get [it],” Mahdavinia said.

Relevant disclosures for Mahdavinia include GENZYME CORPORATION, Optinose US, Inc, and Blueprint Medicines Corporation.

References

1. ^{Mahdavinia, M. How to Adapt the Practice of Allergy and Immunology to Climate Change. Session presented at AAAAI 2025 in San Diego on March 1.}

2. ^{Derman, C. Adapting Allergy Care Due to Increased Pollen Seasons, with Sharmilee Nyenhuis, MD. HCPLive. March 1, 2025. https://www.hcplive.com/view/adapting-allergy-care-due-increased-pollen-seasons-sharmilee-nyenhuis-md. Accessed March 1, 2025}